Can Stress Affect Your Diabetes?

Stress can impact your physical, mental and emotional health in a variety of ways, all of which can contribute to the development or worsening of diabetes.
The relationship between stress and diabetes can be challenging to understand, but with just a little research, you’ll find that there are quite a few ways they are related and can affect each other.
Here are five ways stress can affect your diabetes, whether your diabetes is newly diagnosed or something you’ve lived with since childhood.
Sugar Cravings
Stress not only affects your mood and energy levels, but it can also have an impact on your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes. When you’re stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol can increase your blood sugar levels, and it can also make you crave sugary foods. While it’s important to find ways to manage your stress, it’s also important to be aware of how your stress levels might be affecting your blood sugar levels so that you can take steps to prevent any spikes.
The stress-sugar connection works both ways: not only can stress lead to increased cravings, but eating sugary foods can also make you feel more stressed. In fact, one study found that people who ate a high-sugar diet had higher cortisol levels in their bodies than those who didn’t. This stress-sugar cycle can be challenging to break out of, but it’s crucial if you want to maintain control over your diabetes.
Sleep Challenges
It’s well-known that lack of sleep can cause all sorts of physical health problems. Studies have shown that stress can lead to sleep challenges, which can be a particular problem for people with diabetes.
Diabetics need to maintain a consistent schedule, and if you are changing the times you sleep, your body may have a more difficult time regulating your blood sugar levels. Try to stick to a regular sleep schedule as much as possible to help keep your diabetes under control.
If you’re having a hard time sleeping, find ways to wind down and relax. This may include exercise, meditation, or simply walking the dog. By managing your sleep schedule, you can help keep your diabetes under control.
Increased Appetite
If you find yourself snacking more often because you’re stressed, you may be putting yourself at an increased risk of weight gain. When we gain weight, it can be more difficult to maintain healthy blood sugar levels – something that’s already a challenge for those who live with diabetes.
Also, stress can also have an impact on the types of foods we crave and eat. When we’re stressed, we often crave comfort foods that are high in sugar and fat – which can lead to weight gain.
Weight gain can also cause high blood pressure and heart disease – two more complications of diabetes. So, to avoid these health risks, it’s important to find healthy ways to cope with stress. This might include exercise, relaxation or developing healthy eating habits.
Upset Stomach
Stress can have a number of negative effects on your body, one of which is an upset stomach. When you’re stressed, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode and releases a stress hormone called cortisol. This hormone can increase your blood sugar levels, which can lead to an upset stomach.
If you’re struggling to manage your stress levels, there are several things you can do to help. Exercise, meditation, and spending time with friends or family can all help to reduce stress. If you’re still struggling to cope, talk to your doctor about other ways to manage stress.
Poor Decision-Making
It’s no secret that stress can have a negative impact on our decision-making abilities. We may be more likely to make careless mistakes or poor choices when we’re under pressure, which can lead to problems in our careers, relationships, and overall health.
This can become an issue when we are trying to manage diabetes while under an immense amount of stress. When we are too stressed, we may miss doses, miscalculate insulin amounts, and put ourselves in other dangerous situations.
Ending Notes
By managing stress, you can keep your diabetes in control and live a healthy life. If you’re dealing with any of these signs of stress, find ways to manage it to ensure your health is at its best.